Formula One teams have agreed to change the tyre rules for 2010, by making the top ten drivers on the grid start the race on the same tyres they qualified on.
With the absence of refuelling, the amendment has been introduced to maintain a strategic element in the sport. It has been proposed by F1's Sporting Working Group (SWG) in order to improve the show, but will have to be rubber-stamped by the F1 Commission and the FIA's World Motor Sport Council.
The idea is that team's will have to decide between running a soft tyre compound, which should give a better lap time in qualifying but will wear out quickly during the race, or a hard compound, which will give a slower time over one-lap but should last longer. The addition of a heavy fuel load at the start of the race will mean that driver's who choose the softer, better qualifying tyre will have to be very careful in the early stages.
However, it has not been announced what will happen if the track is wet or damp on race day. It is most likely the teams will be allowed to change to the appropriate tyres, but those who qualifyied on the harder compound will lose the long first-stint advantage they would have gained in the dry. Ultimately weather forecasting will become even more important to the weekend's strategy.
It is the second last-minute change to the 2010 rules proposed by the SWG, after the group submitted a new points system for approval on Monday.
